Picky eating during childhood: A longitudinal study to age 11years

Abstract

Picky eating is a common disorder during childhood often causing considerable parental anxiety. This study examined the incidence, point prevalence, persistence and characteristics of picky eating in a prospective study of 120 children and their parents followed from 2 to 11 years. At any given age between 13% and 22% of the children were reported to be picky eaters. Incidence declined over time whereas point prevalence increased indicating that picky eating is often a chronic problem with 40% having a duration of more than 2-years. Those with longer duration differed from those with short duration having more strong likes and dislikes of food and not accepting new foods. Parents of picky eaters were more likely to report that their children consumed a limited variety of foods, required food prepared in specific ways, expressed stronger likes and dislikes for food, and threw tantrums when denied foods. They were also more likely to report struggles over feeding, preparing special meals, and commenting on their child's eating. Hence, picky eating is a prevalent concern of parents and may remain so through childhood. It appears to be a relatively stable trait reflecting an individual eating style. However no significant effects on growth were observed.

What’s the fuss about? Parent presentations of fussy eating to a parenting support helpline

“…Parents' accounts presented in the current study, like previous literature, describe fussy eating as food rejection that limits variety and quantity of food intake (6,9,29) . However, new findings are suggestive of a trajectory from a normative developmental transition from milk-based foods into a behavioural and nutritional conflict underpinned by parent concern and child control.…”

“…Children who reject new or familiar foods are frequently referred to as 'food neophobic' or a 'fussy/picky eater' (4) , although fussy eating is a relatively common and transient phase in childhood (5) . Despite the typically temporary nature of fussy eating, food rejection is a significant source of parental stress (6) that may serve to perpetuate suboptimal nutrition and ongoing problematic eating behaviours. How parents respond to fussy eating may exacerbate the trajectory of fussy eating (7) .…”

“…Parent-reported assessments of fussy eating often refer to a child's low quantity or variety of foods consumed, or strong food preferences (6,9) .…”

O papel do fonoaudiólogo no diagnóstico e tratamento multiprofissional da criança com dificuldade alimentar: uma nova visão

“…Aspects related to meals, experiences and eating routine were observed during the assessment and work as they directly impact on the result of the treatment [1][2][3]11,[15][16][17] . At first, a great pressure on the side of the family for BM to eat regardless of the manner or food consistency was identified.…”

The association of problematic eating behaviours with food quality and body mass index at 7 years of age

“…It has been reported that diets of picky eaters may lack variety [6,7] and quantity [1,5,[8][9][10][11][12], since the most refused groups are vegetables [5,[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] and fruits [16,18], because of less palatable tastes, which, according to a longitudinal study, may result in a low energy intake [8]. A longitudinal study has described a higher consumption of sweetened foods among pickier children [16] and such has also been reported among fussier children in cross-sectional analysis [12].…”